New York ¦ On April 27-29 a group of 60 students from New York City’s Harmony Program,  Longy School of Music’s Sistema Side-by-Side program in Cambridge, Massachusetts and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s OrchKids will convene in Manhattan for a three-day “Seminario” music festival. The festival will feature orchestra rehearsals and sectionals, social activities for the students, and guest artist appearances by From the Top and New York Philharmonic Teaching Artists, culminating in a free, public performance on April 29 at 2:30 p.m. at the A. Philip Randolph Campus High School. The orchestra will be conducted by David Bernard, Music Director of the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony and the Massapequa Philharmonic, and Jorge Soto, Conductor and Music Director of Longy’s Sistema Side-by-Side program.

The collaboration is the brainchild of Harmony Program’s Executive Director, Anne Fitzgibbon, and Karen Zorn, President of Longy School of Music who were looking for a way to recognize their programs’ milestone seasons. The Harmony Program is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its founding by Fitzgibbon, who studied the El Sistema model in Venezuela as a Fulbright scholar. Longy School of Music recently celebrated the 5-year anniversary of their program with a grand gala in Cambridge. Both programs present life-changing, collaborative experiences for children from diverse, under-resourced backgrounds and neighborhoods. The participants receive high-quality musical training and rehearse and perform in a variety of settings, often with renowned guest conductors and artists.

The inspiration for both programs is the Venezuelan El Sistema movement started in 1975 by the late musician, composer, pianist, teacher and economist Jose Antonio Abréu, who passed away on March 24^th at the age of 78.  El Sistema, or “The System,” strives to reach children who would not otherwise have access to music education, unlocking children’s potential by helping them develop confidence, creativity, and a sense of community through music.  According to the Sistema tradition, a seminario brings together students from various instructional programs for a shared learning experience and performance.

The gathering has even more meaning since Maestro Abreu’s passing.  “Maestro Abreu inspired the Harmony Program and so many others with his vision of a world made better through music,” Fitzgibbon remarked.  “We honor his legacy by uniting our efforts and celebrating his passionate commitment to social change through the pursuit of musical excellence.”

“Whenever Anne and I meet we always talk about our shared experiences through our programs and how we should collaborate. Considering our milestones this year, we decided that now was the time,” said Zorn. “We’ve been bringing our kids out of the Greater Boston area to Los Angeles and New York for several years to partner in national initiatives, however we wanted to do something special that brought together programs from the North East, and the timing could not have been more perfect.”

Event Information: Community Concert
Date: Sunday, April 29, 2018
Time: 2:30 p.m.
Location: A. Philip Randolph Campus High School, 443 W 135th St, New York, NY 10031

Join us at 1:00 p.m. for a special pre-concert performance with Teaching Artists from the New York Philharmonic. The entire event is free and open to the public. For more details, please visit the Seminario Facebook page.

About Harmony Program

The Harmony Program is a non-profit organization that provides children from under-served communities with free instruments, intensive music instruction, orchestral training and access to a variety of cultural experiences in an effort to promote healthy social development and academic success.

The Harmony Program’s unique model also addresses a shortage of well-trained music teachers by preparing accomplished musicians to teach at partnering public schools and community centers throughout New York City and on Long Island. Each year, the Harmony Program provides up to 150,000 hours of intensive music instruction.

About the Longy School of Music

Longy School of Music of Bard College prepares musicians to make a difference in the world with a social imperative that is at the core of the School’s curriculum. Internationally recognized for its efforts to meet a changing musical landscape head-on, Longy gives its graduates the opportunity to perform professionally, teach in a variety of settings, and expand access and opportunity within classical music.

Longy’s innovative curriculum, including the Sistema Side by Side program, Teaching Artist Program (TAP) and Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree program, compels students to explore their artistry, take risks to build their skills, and become the musician the world needs them to be. Spearheaded by world class faculty, Longy promotes profound musical understanding and technical mastery and inspires growth of imagination, fostering an attitude of inquiry about the musician's role in the world.

About OrchKids

OrchKids is a year-round, during and after school music program designed to create social change and nurture promising futures for youth in Baltimore City neighborhoods. Under Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s Music Director, Marin Alsop’s artistic leadership and direction, OrchKids is the cornerstone of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s efforts to expand their relevance within the broad and diverse Baltimore community. In collaboration with several community partners, including Baltimore City Public Schools, OrchKids provides music education, instruments, academic instruction, meals, as well as performance and mentorship opportunities at no cost to students and families. OrchKids is inspired by Venezuela’s El Sistema, the music program that has transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of children in the country’s most impoverished areas. Currently OrchKids works with six public schools in Baltimore City, serving over 1,000 children from Pre-K through 10th grade.